Automobiles; research & restoration of old cars gives a valuable insight to the rehabilitation of exiting structures. Research and interests extend to other vehicles such as aircraft.

History “People are very open-minded about new things, as long as they’re exactly like the olds ones” Charles Kettering; People outside the Architecture profession do not understand the vocabulary, let alone the drawings of the trade, therefore it is the Architect’s responsibility to establish a rapport in terms that they are already familiar with in order to open their minds to new possibilities.

Rehabilitating existing historic structures; I own a greystone three flat in Chicago that keeps my spare time occupied with repairs.

I have worked three years at Holabird & Root where I gained extensive experience that would prove quite valuable in future endeavors.

Having worked three years at a large Chicago architecture firm, my wide exposure to the profession primarily consisted of reviewing and approving contractor and subcontractor submittal shop drawings and product data. Most of the projects were “design-build,” including numerous assignments in which the owner and contractor were the same entity.

My experience has also given me a view on liability. It was important that my actions did not result in a possible charge against my employer, for negligence or possibly criminal actions. In code research and construction an Architect carries a lot of liability, if misread the code could result in major problems in latter phases of the job. If improperly handled, actions during construction could result in major financial litigation against my employer. An idea that was on my mind as I approached all aspects of the profession was; “will doing this send my boss to jail?”

I can be of great service reviewing drawings prior, during, and after construction. Also, I can accomplish the final walk-through and punch lists of soon-to-be-completed projects. My background includes deep familiarity with building and zoning codes for new construction and the rehabilitation of existing structures.

Employment

Responsibilities include: Composition, review and coordination of documents for all phases of project from programming to as-builds.Code reviews for establishing parameters and requirements in conjunction of scope for both new and existing construction. Review drawings of other disciplines (struct, MEP, etc) for coordination.Overseeing of the firms responsibilities in construction of spec office building in conjunction with an Owner-Contractor. Review of shop drawings, coordinating between Construction Documents, specifications and submittals, curtain wall, casework, door hardware, stairs, miscellaneous steel, product data, etc. Composition of construction phase documentation; ASI’s RFIs, PRs, etc.Computer Programs used include Acad; up to 2011; Sketchup; Filemaker Pro; PowerPoint; Photoshop; Microsoft Word; Outlook; Excel.